MLB Player News

Alexander threw 89 pitches and completed six innings in a minor-league game Sunday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Alexander is competing for the fifth starting job for the Rays to open the season with both Shane Baz (elbow) and Taj Bradley (pectoral) sidelined. In addition to his outing Sunday, Alexander also threw five innings in a March 19 Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox. Meanwhile, Jacob Waguespack -- another contender for the rotation -- has worked significantly shorter stints.

The Cubs informed Little on Monday that he'll be included on the Opening Day roster, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Little claimed one of the final spots in the team's Opening Day bullpen after he permitted three earned runs on six hits and four walks while striking out nine over 8.1 innings during Cactus League play. The 23-year-old lefty made plenty of bats miss between the Double-A and Triple-A level (84 strikeouts in 46.1 innings) and as a September call-up (12 in 6.2 innings) last season, making him a name worth monitoring if Adbert Alzolay is unable to lock down the closer's gig or otherwise misses time at some point. At least to begin the season, Little's usage could be limited to lower-leverage spots.

The Cubs optioned Wesneski to Triple-A Iowa on Monday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Wesneski struck out 12 over 11 innings this spring but also allowed 12 runs. The right-hander should join Iowa's rotation and could eventually help the Cubs either in a starting or relief role.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Monday that Mlodzinski (forearm) is slated for a live batting practice session in the coming days, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

While he will begin the season on the injured list, Mlodzinski looks to be tracking toward a short absence as long as he continues moving in the right direction. He's been sidelined by right forearm tightness since mid-March.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Monday that Holderman (illness) will throw a live batting practice session within the next few days, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Holderman is ramping things back up after battling a nasty virus. He will begin the season on the injured list but could be activated when first eligible or shortly after. Holderman is in line for high-leverage relief innings ahead of closer David Bednar.

Webb is in line to make the Orioles' Opening Day roster after the team sent down Jonathan Heasley on Sunday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Webb had a 4.91 ERA over 7.1 innings across seven Grapefruit League outings. Between the Orioles and the Angels last season, he recorded a 3.69 ERA, 1.29 WHIP and 57:30 K:BB across 53.2 innings. The right-handed reliever hasn't been confirmed for the roster just yet -- there's a lot of roster churn just before Opening Day, and it's always possible the Orioles could snag an extra reliever from outside the organization, which could bump Webb off the major-league roster at the last minute.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Monday that Swanson (forearm) will likely begin the season on the 15-day injured list, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Toronto appears set to head into Opening Day without its top setup man in Swanson and its closer in Jordan Romano, who is unlikely to be available for the first couple weeks of the season while building back up from an elbow injury. Swanson seems to be in a similar spot to Romano in his recovery from a right forearm tightness, as the former has been able to play catch in recent days and is expected to resume throwing off a mound around the middle of the week. If Swanson is able to throw multiple bullpen and live batting practice sessions without issue, he could head out on a brief minor-league rehab assignment before joining the Toronto bullpen when or shortly after he's eligible to come off the IL on April 9. While Swanson and Romano are both temporarily out of the Blue Jays' bullpen mix, Yimi Garcia, Chad Green and Tim Mayza could be candidates to pick up saves.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Monday that it's "reasonable to say" that Romano (elbow) will begin the season on the injured list, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Erik Swanson (forearm) is also expected to be IL-bound, which could leave closing duties, at least initially, to Yimi Garcia or perhaps Chad Green. Romano was slated to play catch over the weekend and the hope is that he'll begin ramping up with mound work next week, so it's possible his stint on the injured list is a relatively short one. For now, though, there is no timetable.

Atlanta released Murfee (elbow) on Monday, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Murfee had been occupying a spot on the 40-man roster after he inked a one-year split contract with Atlanta in November, but he appeared to be a candidate to begin the season on the 60-day injured list while he completed his recovery from the Tommy John surgery he underwent last July. However, based on Atlanta's decision to release him, Murfee may have hit a snag in his rehab program that put him off target for a second-half return. Whatever the case, Murfee will now look to catch on elsewhere, though he's still not expected to be relied upon as a major contributor to any team's bullpen until 2025.

The Brewers informed Hudson on Monday that he'll be included on the Opening Day roster, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Hudson has two minor-league options remaining, but he did enough in spring training to solidify his spot in the Brewers' Opening Day bullpen. After being acquired from the Dodgers in January, Hudson looked like one of Milwaukee's more dominant arms in the Cactus League, as he racked up 19 strikeouts against five walks over 12.2 innings while sporting a 3.55 ERA that was inflated by a .438 BABIP. With Devin Williams (back) likely to open the season on the 60-day injured list, the Brewers' closing situation is wide open, but Abner Uribe, Joel Payamps and Trevor Megill look to be the early frontrunners to enter the mix for saves. However, Hudson could eventually work his way into the late-inning picture if he's able to carry over his spring success to the regular season.